Solbakken made ten changes to his starting XI for the crucial World Cup group-stage clash, with Frederik Aursnes the only player retained from the previous match.
Haaland, Martin Odegaard and Antonio Nusa were all left on the bench as Norway fielded a heavily rotated side.
France took advantage of the changes to secure a convincing win, but Haaland dismissed claims that Norway’s strongest team would have produced a different result.
"I said beforehand that I don't care, and that is still the case," Haaland told media.
"France was the better team anyway. Even with our strongest 11, I don't think we could have beaten them.
"France has world-class players everywhere Mbappe, Michael Olise, Dembele... they just keep coming. They will pose a problem for any team and I honestly think they can go very far. What they showed against us was terrifying."